CAFÉ’s second-annual Deans and Directors Retreat in February introduced a stellar line-up of thought leaders to passionate educators wishing to grow and strengthen their culinary-arts programs amid sweeping societal evolution.

By Brent T. Frei

Approximately 40 people attended CAFÉ’s 2^nd-annual Deans and Directors Retreat, held Feb. 22-23 at Kendall College in Chicago. Like last year’s inaugural event, this year’s was marked by tremendous interaction among program leaders who shared best practices in culinary education.

Attendees included Kirk Bachmann, M.Ed., CEC, AAC, president of Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Chicago; Eric Frauwirth, Ed.D., dean of Stratford University’s Baltimore campus; Jim Gallivan, MAT, CCA, CCP, CFBE, culinary-arts chair at The Art Institute of Atlanta; and Dorothy Johnston, CEC, CCE, AAC, hospitality-management chair and instructor at Erie Community College in Buffalo, N.Y.

A simple concept conceived by the School of Culinary Arts at Kendall College turned out to be a powerful tool with which to teach culinary-arts students how to achieve impeccable flavor in every dish.

By Christopher Koetke, CEC, CCE, HAAC

TAAT^© is a major initiative that the Kendall College School of Culinary Arts launched in 2007. On the surface, it seems like a pretty obvious and maybe unnecessary teaching tool. After all, everyone tastes the food they eat, at least in theory. Certainly, one would assume that those studying the culinary arts would taste their food. Based on my experience in culinary education over the last decade, however, I am convinced that these assumptions are false. That is where TAAT is proving powerful.

Tasting involves more than ingesting food. True critical tasting involves more than simply declaring one’s like or dislike for a particular food or dish. Tasting in the professional sense involves work and contemplation, which then ideally leads to action. I believe that this lack of taste training is part of American culture. Students in America are schooled to critically think about art and music, but curiously not in the culinary arts, where they should also critically develop their senses of smell and taste. This method instills that analytical rationale in our students.

Hand pies are the latest incarnation in the mini-dessert trend, crêpes add adventure to diners’ repertoires, and nuts, dessert butters and spoonables are big.

The Food Channel® (foodchannel.com) in February released its “Top Ten Dessert Trends for 2014,”sponsored by Otis Spunkmeyer®. The popular annual report looks at market trends around sweets and treats. Based on research conducted in conjunction with CultureWaves®, the list identifies the significant behaviors of consumers, foodservice professionals and manufacturers, with original recipes and photographs to illustrate each trend.

The Food Channel Top 10 Dessert Trends for 2014 are:

Healthy whole grains are hot all over the menu. But what diner wants to consume a simple bowl of them? Chef Renee Zonka explains how to teach students to look beyond oatmeal at breakfast to showcase whole grains in dish development in a whole new light.

By Renee Zonka, RD, CEC, CHE

March is National Nutrition Month, and everyone’s talking whole grains these days as consumer interest in them soars. Many foodservice establishments, however, are still challenged with making whole grains not only palatable, but craveable.

Here are five flavorful ways you can teach students to incorporate whole-grain goodness into menus and elicit guest delight.

Brown: the New White
Brown rice is one of the most familiar whole grains to diners. Diehard white-rice lovers might rate brown rice as second fiddle, but they like the healthy halo brown rice carries. So here’s a tip for students: Replace part of the white rice in a pilaf or other side dish with brown rice. Doing so not only adds flavor and nutrition (such as fiber and magnesium, which are stripped from white rice during processing) to a dish, but also contrasting color.

Yellow, red, white and sweet onions all bear different qualities and thus require different approaches to maximize their exquisite flavor and texture contributions to a dish.

By Robert Danhi

Many dishes begin with cooking an onion, but why? Because no other ingredient adds subtle sweetness and bolsters other flavors at the same time quite like an onion. In fact, the type of onion, the way it’s cut and the way it’s cooked all affect the flavor and texture of a finished dish in dramatically different ways. So, when you set out to create a new dish or you just want to tinker with an old favorite, pay special attention to the onion.

Types of Onion
While leeks and scallions can play a delicious role in cooking, globe onions of all kinds—yellow, red, white, sweet—and shallots are more assertive and versatile in cooking.

Yellow onions are all-purpose. Readily available and inexpensive, I use them more than any other type. They have the strongest flavor of all globe onions, so they are best when cooked. They’re usually my first choice for stocks and broths.

White onions retain their firm texture. They're a bit milder than yellow onions, so they can be eaten raw (in a salsa or on a hamburger), but they're also strong enough to hold up under heat. I especially love how white onions hold their shape and texture when sautéed.